You Don't Belong Here
by LovelyMagickUnicorn
Summary: With Quinn headed for Yale and Rachel condemned to stay in Lima, one girl decides to take drastic action. But will she bring them closer together or risk tearing them apart. A story of holding on or deciding to let go. Post-graduation Fic
1. All You Wanted

AN: In celebration of Friday the 13th here is the premise for fic that I've just recently come up with. Please forgive any grammatical errors, or any other errors. Reviews and suggestions welcome. I own nothing. If I did Rachel would have vomited on Finn during their First Time because he had fed her meat.

_**Edit:**_ Chapters have now been given song names as titles.

_**All You Wanted**_

She had done it. She was making her way out of Lima. Her eyes drift over to the girl who made this all possible. What had happened in the past few months? She didn't know. Her eyes glistened with a mixture of emotions, ranging from regret to sorrow to thanks and everything else in between. Those eyes met hers for a fleeting moment even though it felt like forever.

At least for her it did.

And how she wanted it too.

She'd be moving soon. And with that came the inevitability of losing touch with the girl she had so grown accustomed to over the past four years. Yes, their history was a messy one. And maybe their tentative friendship was still in a state of semi-awkwardness. That didn't change the fact that the two of them need each other.

Or to be more specific, that Quinn needed Rachel.

She wouldn't have made it this far without her. And now she found herself in preparation of attending Yale, and Rachel… well she was in preparation of becoming a housewife. Quinn visibly shuddered at the thought. She glanced back at Rachel to check if the smaller girl had noticed. The brunette in question seemed lost in thought, and made no indication that she had seen anything. She was different, and not in a good way.

The irony of their situation wasn't lost on Quinn. No less than a few months ago it was certain that their roles should have been reversed. Rachel was supposed to be attending NYADA and Quinn would stay in Lima and probably try to start a family with Puck. Funny how things end up. Only Quinn found no humor in any of this.

Never once had she wanted the brunette to be stuck in this loser town, not even back when she used to bully her. No, she always knew Rachel would make it to Broadway and had always silently wished her the best.

At the time it was the best she could do. Quinn had to keep up appearances. She had to be the good Christian girl who teased the daughter of two men. And worse she had to quell the feeling she found for that same girl.

And at first it came easily. She threw slushies at her, dated boys, and did everything to she could to make her parents proud. Maybe if she tried hard enough, just maybe she'd be able to get the gay out of her. But yet now here they are, in her room, helping her pack.

Interestingly enough, Quinn thought that they had already finished the day prior, not that she was complaining. But it was just odd that now all they were doing was rearranging things. It had been unusually silent, something that had never been common ground in their complicated relationship. She didn't like it, and the Rachel that sat across form her didn't feel like Rachel.

"Hey, Rach," the brunette turned from whatever she was doing. "I think we're done. Do you wanna get something to eat?" Rachel bit her lip, deep in thought as though they had forgotten something, they hadn't, and then nodded her agreement.

The pair quickly ran downstairs and out the door. With the weather being as good it was they opt to walk to the vegan friendly restaurant Quinn had stumbled upon a while ago. "I'm going to miss this."

Quinn turned towards the tiny diva, whose fingers were interlocked with her own. Things like that had become natural for them in such a short time. And the blonde was confused as to whether the brunette would miss holding hands or simply spending time together. "Yeah, me too." A simple answer, not exactly the one she wanted to say but the only one she was comfortable with at the moment.

They reached their destination not saying another word, and then proceeded to eat without a sound. It was nice to just spend time together, but Quinn had something to do and only had a limited time to do so.

The following day went better than the past. They snuck into the auditorium. Rachel had scolded and lectured Quinn about how much trouble they could get into. The blonde just laughed at her, knowing that she wasn't serious or at least not that serious.

Truth be told Quinn knew that Rachel wanted to see that stage one more time, needed to. Not to mention that Quinn's flight was tomorrow. So she decided that morning to drive over to McKinley and break them in. In the pit of her stomach, Quinn felt this was a bad idea. Not because she thought they would get caught, but because she knew that this stage would bring back memories. Good or bad, now that was the question.

Her initial hesitation gone, Rachel ran up to the all too familiar stage. She twirled around with a smile on her face that Quinn hadn't seen since before she got rejected from NYADA. That girl lived to preform and lit up beautifully just by being in the spotlight.

Quinn strolled down the aisle, slowly approaching the stage. Upon reaching it, she leaned on its edge as she watched Rachel. It was easy to get lost in her. She turned and took a seat. "Sing us a song, superstar," she called.

"No!"

"No?"

"Yes, no. I don't take orders from you, Fabray." And for a second there, Quinn thought she saw a glimmer of the girl she used to know. But as soon as it came, it was gone.

"Okay, in that case. I'll sing for you." She bounced up off her seat and climbed on stage. Rachel's eyes followed her as she walked over to the piano. Quinn motioned for her to come over, having her sit next to her.

Her fingers tentatively brushed over the keys before she began to play. She had practiced this enough so that when in private, she could perform it with her eyes closed, but with Rachel here she felt her entire body tense. With one deep breath she began to sing.

"I wanted, to be like you. I wanted everything"

"So I tried, to be like you. And I got swept away."

Quinn scooted herself closer to Rachel and gazed at her chocolate brown eyes. It was hard to tell from the dim lighting, but it seemed that tears were forming in them.

"I didn't know that it was so cold and you needed someone to show you the way."

She took her hands off the keys and grasped onto Rachel's. They shifted themselves so that they were now facing each other.

"So I took your hand and we figured out that when the time comes I'd take you away."

Quinn's left hand gripped harder on Rachel's while her right one went to cup her cheek.

"If you want to, I can save you"

"I can take you away from here."

She could now see the tears spilling out from Rachel's eyes, and feel them soaking her hand.

"So lonely inside, so busy out there"

"And all you wanted was someone who cares."

Her eyes began to water as well, but unlike Rachel, Quinn didn't hold back and let her tears fall.

"I'm sinking slowly, so hurry hold me"

"Your hand is all I have to keep hanging on"

"Please can you tell me, so I can finally see"

"Where you go when you're gone"

"If you want to, I can save you"

"I can take you away from here"

"So lonely inside, so busy out there"

"And all you wanted was someone who cares"

By the end of the song they were both messes. The seat as well as the floor had gotten wet. Rachel was just sat there, staring deeply into hazel eyes until Quinn leapt up and embraced her in a tight hug. They sobbed into each other's shoulders. Quinn pulled away, but only far enough so that they each had some personal space. She couldn't stand to be too far away from this girl, which is why she did this in the first place.

"Come with me," she pleaded.

"Where?"

"To New Haven. It's not New York, but it's close. Come with me," she pleaded again.

"Quinn, I appreciate what you're trying to do," she paused as she took a breath and dropped her eyes from the blonde's. "But I can't be that close yet be so far from my dream."

"We can try," Quinn's desperation was growing. "We can try to get you to Broadway. We can do it. I know we can." And she did. She was so certain that they could. "Please Rachel."

"Quinn, no."

"Rachel-"

"Quinn!" the blonde was taken aback by her harsh tone. "You need to stop."

"No, what I need is you!" And then it was out. "I love you. I love you Rachel. I love you, and I'm trying to help you just like you've helped me over the years. Why won't you let me?"

"Quinn stop. I'm content with my life. As you already know I'll be assisting with Glee-"

"What happened to you?" Rachel froze at the question. "You used to be so full of life, and so independent, and so amazing. And now, now…" She wiped away some of her tears. "When did you become so broken?" Quinn regretted her words even before they left her mouth.

"Broken? Broken?" There was a fire in her eyes, but not the good kind. "Me broken?" She shot up from her seat, and took a few steps away from Quinn before turning on heel to face her again. "That's really funny coming from you!" It felt like getting stabbed in the heart. She wanted to back down, to apologize, but she couldn't.

"But you are! The Rachel I knew wouldn't just lay down and die! She'd keep going! She wouldn't stay her in Lima because of some stupid boy!" And now her jealousy was showing. She needed this to stop.

"You know very well that Finn has nothing has to do with this! I didn't get into NYADA, Quinn! Otherwise I would go to New York, do you really think I'd stay otherwise?"

"You would if he asked you to stay?" Quinn went up to her, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "If he asked you to stay you would have, wouldn't you?" No answer. "He broke you, Rachel. That's why I tried to-"

"Oh, is that the reason? You consistently tried to get in between me and Finn for my benefit? I doubt that Quinn. And maybe I am broken, but did you ever think to consider that it's your fault?"

"I-" Maybe it was her fault. Her hazel eyes met brown orbs, and in her eyes she saw all that she needed to know. She did. It was her fault. "Rachel, I-" The words got caught as she felt a lump in her throat. She took a small step forward, her arms wide in attempt to embrace the smaller girl. Rachel replied with a step back while furiously shaking her head. "Rachel, I'm sorry," the blonde all but stuttered out. Those were the only words that came to mind. She wasn't sure how to proceed, or if there was still a way to proceed. "I love-"

"Stop! Stop saying that!" the brunette screamed, louder than the blonde had ever heard her before. Even through the dim lighting, Quinn could she how red her eyes were as she blinked back tears that were already spilling.

"What happened to you Rachel? What happened to the girl I loved?"

It hurt.

It was a lie.

She loved her.

She still loves her.

And she will always love her.

AN: So I will probably continue this, just not sure when. But if anyone gets inspired by this, or would like to collaborate on this, I would love to hear from you. Reviews please, and thank you for reading.


	2. Changing

AN: Ooh, I am liking this so far. But nonetheless I'm not completely sure where I'm going with this. I only have a vague idea, and would welcome suggestions. Please forgive any grammatical errors, or any other errors. Reviews and suggestions welcome. I own nothing. If I did Rachel would say no.

_**Changing**_

Fifteen minutes.

Thirty minutes.

An hour.

Rachel Berry wasn't sure how long it was she sat at the edge of the stage until she was kicked out of the auditorium, by Sue Sylvester no less. The cheer leading coach was apparently going to have her Cheerios use the space for one reason or another for her mandatory summer practices.

As she entered the parking lot a pang of guilt hit her once she remembered that they had taken her car to get here. Her fear for Quinn quickly dissipated though considering that they were no longer friends, again.

Absentmindedly she started up her car. Probably not the smartest thing to do, her mind was going at a mile a minute and apparently so was her car. For the past four years she had craved the acceptance of Quinn Fabray. And this moment was no different. Her entire body was shaking out of a mixture of anger, confusion and hurt.

She barely noticed the red light as she began to replay the event in her head. Finally noting how unstable her driving was at the current time, she decided to find someplace to park. She made her way to the Lima Bean, which was surprisingly close to where her erratic driving had taken her.

She ordered a small coffee, as she felt it to be rude to come by and wallow in her thoughts without buying anything. The place was fairly empty, and Rachel took a seat in as a secluded a place as she could. Once again she began to run through the events in the auditorium.

"_I love you."_

An admission of that caliber was definitely not something she had expected from her former tormentor. It had been so much of a shock that only now did she fully register that those words did in fact come out of Quinn Fabray's mouth. Normally Rachel would have appreciated the drama of the situation, but this time she didn't. She couldn't.

Not only would Quinn be boarding a plane the following day, but Rachel wasn't sure if she reciprocated the blonde's feelings. She went further back, to her first memory of Quinn.

_They had homeroom together, and had been seated by table alphabetically. The blonde had sat across from her as they began some childish activity of getting to know your neighbor, and then introducing them._

_Her initial hesitance changed though, once she saw the instant rapport that she had with the blonde. That memory had been burned into her. Everything to how Quinn blushed when Rachel complimented how her green baby doll dress brought out her eyes, to how the blonde would giggle at the divas long winded rants about herself._

_She felt so good about herself, having made a friend at her first day of high school. Rachel next saw her in the hallways. She happily greeted her, but was met with a slushie facial. Quinn walked past her doing her best to keep her composure. Knowing that she'd regret it she turned her head to look back at the brunette over her shoulder. Said diva was now being ridiculed by a number of jocks and Cheerios. Quinn's heart sank and she ran off to her next period._

_Rachel saw none of this. All she could focus on was the laughing and jeering from the crowd surrounding her. Tears formed in her eyes, and when she concluded that said tears were not caused by the icy beverage she began to cry even more._

She began to feel tears forming in her eyes and thus took a sip of her coffee to help clam her nerves. Typically she'd use a glass of water, but any beverage would work just as well. Surprisingly it had become slightly cold, and Rachel began to wonder how long she'd been sitting there.

The diva decided to look on the bright side. The longer she stayed out, the longer she could avoid all the questions everyone would throw at her upon seeing how she wasn't with Quinn. Her parents, and the entire Glee Club, along with the ones who had already left for college, and were all well aware that she and the blonde had planned to spend Quinn's last days in Lima together.

She took another sip of her drink, and found its decrease in temperature had become even more distasteful. She grasped her beverage and stood up bringing it to the nearest wastebasket. Her butt had gone numb, another sign that she had been here for too long.

She went back to her car and set off once again. Her driving was far more controlled this time. Even then though, Rachel's mind had more important things to focus on, and thus was driving on auto-pilot. She drifted back to thoughts of Quinn.

Rachel cared very deeply for the girl ever since that first encounter with her. She was inexplicably drawn to the blonde. In hindsight, her attraction to Finn now looked like some sort of sick revenge plot. The diva pondered this thought as she found herself pulling into **Hummel Tires & Lube**. She saw Finn directly inside working on a car.

The diva tentatively approached him. He was too distracted with engine of the automobile to notice her. She poked him lightly on the side. Finn jolted upright, smashing his head on the hood. Rachel clasped her hands over her mouth as the tall boy began rubbing the spot he hit. "Oh, Finn. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" she asked through her fingers.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Finn turned to her, still rubbing his head. Rachel got up on her tippy-toes, brought her hands to his chest for support, and gave him a chaste kiss. "And now I'm better." He had that dopey, lopsided smile on his face. The brunette beamed at him. Right now she didn't really need to know why she first pursued him.

He made her feel special, wanted, needed.

"Where's Quinn?" he quickly asked. He scanned the garage, and then when he found no sign of the blond her brought his eyes back to his girlfriend. Her smile had contorted into a pout and her eyes were looking down at their feet.

"We had a fight," Rachel replied as indifferently as she could.

"Oh," the diva's eyes shot up for a second before dropping back down. She had hoped he would have given more of a reaction. When nothing else was said, Rachel began to straighten out her clothes. The silence was ended when she heard footsteps approaching.

"Finn, do you think you could- Rachel, hey! It's good to see you." Blaine was dressed far differently than Rachel had ever seen him. He had on a pair of jeans, boots, and a dirt gray tee.

"Blaine!" Rachel quickly switched to actress mode. "It's good to see you too," she replied with false giddiness. "But what are you doing here?" Her brow furrowed.

"I'm working here now," he answered. "Thanks to my dad I know a thing or two about cars, and being a senior now I'm going to need to save some money if I plan to going to NYA-" a guilty look fell upon his face as he backtracked. "to a good college, that is. But why are you here? Shouldn't you be with-" he cut himself off as he saw Finn fervently shake his head back and forth.

"We had a fight," she answered again.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Rachel politely nodded her head even though she knew she wasn't.

"Well if you want to talk about it you can come to me," he offered. Through Kurt, Blaine knew of the history the two girls shared. He knew full well that it was a sensitive subject, and proceeded cautiously. They topic was not brought up often, but the two boys had agreed that Quinn and Rachel were happier and better off when they were friends. Interestingly neither of them had ever concluded that either girl might potentially be gay.

Rachel gave Blaine a weak smile before answering. "Thanks you, Blaine." He gave a smile in return before returning to his original intention.

"Anyway, Finn do you think you could look at something over here?" he asked already heading deeper into the garage.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right there." Rachel had Finn's rapt attention. He glanced at Blaine, who nodded at him understandingly. "Hey, don't worry about this. Quinn's… Quinn. You know how she is." He was entirely clueless, but Rachel nodded her head in agreement. "She'll come around, she did decide to go to Yale to be close to you, right?" he tried to reassure her.

"_If he asked you to stay you would have, wouldn't you?"_

"Would you have followed me?" Rachel blurted out. Finn looked confused, but the brunette was certain that he knew exactly what she was asking. "Would you? If I went to New York? If I did get into NYADA? Would you have come with me?"

The tall boy brought his eyes away from Rachel's for the first time since Blaine had left. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know." He knew Rachel was disappointed in his answer, but at the same time felt that lying to her would make her feel just as upset. "I mean someone has to take over the garage," he explained. "It doesn't really matter now, does it?" He was desperate to get out this situation.

"No, I suppose not." He noted the melancholy in her voice, but didn't dare to broach the subject again.

"I should go help out Blaine." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you later, Rach." He disappeared into the garage and Rachel turned back to her car. She felt very weary and it took far too much effort to just enter the vehicle. Ever the drama queen, she was certain that she might pass out behind the wheel if she attempted to drive.

Regardless she pulled out of the garage and made her way home. It was still early, or at least it was earlier than she would usually get home after spending the day with Quinn. Therefore it came as no surprise to Rachel when her father's questioned the whereabouts of said blonde. They both dropped the subject upon closer inspection of their daughter, though. They both knew the look she had for she had worn it before, but only once before.

It had been the first day she was slushied.

The first day she had become friends with Quinn Fabray.

The first day she was rejected by Quinn Fabray.

AN: Reviews and suggestions, please. And also what characters would you like to see? So far I'm certain to have Finn, Kurt, Blaine, Sam, and maybe Puck be around. I might add Santana and Brittany, but I'd need some help when it comes to what college they're attending.


	3. My Happy Ending

AN: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

AN2: I apologize for the late update. I've had to rewrite this chapter a bit. Okay so a few things. 1) I've decided that both Santana and Brittany are attending NYU. 2) With recent episodes I now ship Samcedes, it probably won't be mentioned much in her, but you never know. 3) Depending on how things turn out, Joe (Samuel's character) may have a role in this fic. And 4) We won the poll. (If you don't know what I'm talking about then good for you) Please forgive any grammatical errors, or any other errors. Reviews and suggestions welcome. I own nothing.

_**My Happy Ending**_

It was the day Quinn was to leave for New Haven. She was sitting on the couch in her living room lazily flipping through channels. There wasn't anything really interesting to watch and to be completely honest Quinn wasn't in much of a mood to pay much attention to anything. This should have been a happy day; finally getting out of Lima, but it wasn't. Quinn had been dreading this day since she found out Rachel didn't get into NYADA. She even considered staying behind and attending community college, but what good would that do? A ring of the doorbell disturbed her thoughts and she turned the TV off. "I'll get it," she called.

She walked over to the door and opened it. She was greeted by Sam, Santana, and Brittany. This was it; they were leaving. Well, sadly not Sam. He would be attending Lima Community College, and was only here to drop the girls off at the airport and to say farewell. "You ready to get out this loser town, Q?"

"Yeah," she answered weakly. "Just give me a sec." Quinn went over to the stairwell. "It's Sam, San, and Britt!" she called up to her mom. Judy came scrambling out of her room not a second latter, camera in hand. She wrapped her daughter in a big hug, and then proceeded to do the same to the other two girls.

"I can't believe this day is here," she said as she went back to Quinn. "Well, come on. Let me take some pictures," she all but ordered when the kids had yet to move. The lightheartedness of their little photo-shoot did some good for Quinn; by the end of it she actually had a smile on her face. "I'm so proud of you, Quinnie," Judy said once again hugging her daughter.

"Mom, please. We'll be late for our flight," Quinn whined.

"Don't give me that. I know very well that your flight doesn't leave for hours."

"Yeah, but we still need to visit Sam's parents so I can say goodbye to Stevie and Stacy," Quinn explained. "I can't leave without seeing those two one last time." Reluctantly Judy let her daughter go.

They went up to Quinn's room to grab her things and stuff them in Sam's already full car. The amount of time it took to close the trunk was a silent reminder that Rachel was supposed to drive her while Santana and Brittany went with Sam. With one last shove Sam was finally able to get it shut and the four of them went back inside to give Judy one last goodbye. As they left she grasped onto Quinn's arm. "Quinnie? Can I say one more thing before you leave?" Quinn signaled her friend to go ahead and headed back with her mom. "I wanted to apologize for what I said before."

"It's okay mom. I told you already. I completely forgot about it."

"You've forgotten it, but you haven't forgiven me," her mother stated. Quinn was silent.

"No," she said softly. "And," she continued after deep breath. "I don't think I will if you keep pushing it." Judy nodded, and let Quinn go. She got into Sam's car and took the seat in the back next to Brittany. Sam wanted to make sure Brittany and Santana kept their hands and lips to themselves.

"Alright, ladies. Let's get this show on the road." Sam pulled out of the Fabray driveway and made his way to his parents' place. Quinn stared blankly out the window as the life she once knew was slowly drifting away. Her face was all but glued to the window when the other three began animately talking with one another.

She finally turned her attention away from the scenery that was passing her by when she felt a hand over hers. "You okay, Q?" Brittany asked as she slipped out of her previous conversation.

"Not really," she confessed. Quinn wanted to lie, but she'd already been lying to herself for the longest time. "Singing that song was a stupid idea," she said softly. Although there was no need to be quiet because both Sam and Santana knew how she felt about Rachel.

"No, it wasn't. I'm sure Rachel loved it." Brittany wasn't being as discreet as Quinn and thus easily captured the attention of the other two occupants of the car. Santana looked back at her best friend and girlfriend while Sam kept his attention on the road.

"Still aching for Berry pie, Q?" the Latina teased, hoping to lighten the mood. Quinn just let herself sink in her seat.

"San, don't be mean."

"Britt, it's okay. Can we just stop talking about Rachel?"

They agreed, which resulted in the rest of the drive to be a silent one. Although the way Santana and Brittany kept looking at each other told Quinn that the pair was talking through their eyes. She could typically catch on to what they were saying, but not this time, though she didn't need to guess that they were continuing on, and from the looks of it arguing, about Rachel.

"We're here," Sam announced after what, to Quinn, felt like an eternity. He hopped out with Quinn quickly following. They approached the door until Sam noticed that Brittany and Santana were missing. He ran back yelling "Not in my car!" Quinn laughed silently, and the door swung open.

"Quinn!" Stevie yelled happily. "Stacy, Quinn's here!" His sister came running, her face a bright smile. Quinn squatted down as the pair sprinted towards her. She caught them in an arm each, squeezing them as tightly as they squeezed back. "We've missed you." Stacy nodded her head furiously into Quinn's shoulder in agreement.

"I've miss you too. Sam's at the car; he should be here soon." Quinn brought them back inside where they were watching The Looney Tunes. She sat down on the couch with one of them on either side of her. Sam got in with Brittany and Santana in tow after an exceedingly long amount of time. "Took you long enough; he's such a wimp, isn't he?" Quinn asked his siblings. "Can't even take on two girls. Why did I ever date him?" she teased causing them to laugh at him.

"Ha-ha, very funny. I'd like to see you try."

"I have, and I've got the scars to prove it." Santana and Brittany giggled at the fond memory of the time Quinn did try to get in between them. It ended with her getting locked out of her own house for an hour, and having to wash her sheets at least a dozen times before she was comfortable sleeping on them again.

Sam sat down on the couch while Santana went over at an armchair on the side and had Brittany sit on her lap. "Hey, don't you two have something for Quinn?" Sam asked his siblings.

"Oh, right!" Stevie bounced out of his seat. "Come on Stacy, let's go find it." His sister jumped up and followed him.

"Find what?" Quinn asked before they could disappear.

"We made you a goodbye card," Stacy answered before leaving the room.

"That's it!" Brittany leapt up from Santana's lap that she nearly fell over. "You should write Rachel a goodbye letter. I've got some stationary in one of my bags! Or at least I think Lord Tubbington pack my stationary." They all looked at her quizzically.

"Britt, did you just say that your cat packed your bags?"

"Yeah, he always does," she responded as though it was completely normal. "Well except for my underwear. Lord Tubbington never packs enough underwear for me, so I do that myself." They continued to stare at her, although Santana now had a smirk on her face. "Give your keys, Sam." He handed them to her, and she went of dragging Santana with her before the Latina could protest.

"Why can't any of you just let this be?" Quinn huffed out of frustration.

"Can you blame us? You called Rachel so much last night that I still have "Defying Gravity" stuck in my head."

"Oh, sorry."

"Don't be. I get it. I went through the same thing-"

"No you didn't! You were with Mercedes; I was never with Rachel. For so long I was just-"

"Here it is Quinn," Stevie and Stacy both took their previous seats on either side of Quinn as they handed her the homemade card. It was a light blue with 'Goodbye Quinn' written in a rainbow of colors on the outside. She opened it to see herself drawn like a lion pouncing on the two kids. It was their favorite game to play when she used to babysit them. Underneath it read 'Don't forget us. Love, Stevie and Stacy.'

"I love it." She hugged the two of them tightly. "And of course I won't forget you." They let go reluctantly when their mother told them to eat. Quinn placed the card on the table then noticed that something was off. "Brittany and Santana have been gone for a while."

"Fuck!" he was quickly out the door. He came back in far more quickly than the previous time, but had neither girl with him and instead just carried the stationary Brittany had talked about. "Here," he said blandly as he handed her the stationary. "I'm going to take a quick shower," the words came out slowly and Quinn finally realized that the boy had yet to give her any eye contact. He had obviously gotten to his car too late, and she had to cover her mouth with her hands to muffle the laughter that was certain to come out. When he was gone, Quinn took out a sheet of the stationary and found a nearby pen.

_Dear Rachel,_

The pen hovered over the piece of paper uncertainly; close enough to touch, but not enough force to leave any ink.

_I wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said_

Scratch that out.

_You're making a mistake Rachel_

Scratch that out, too.

_I love you_

Didn't even right that one.

She leaned back in the couch and let out an audible sigh. She tossed out the letter she was working on and retrieved a new, clean sheet.

_Dear Rachel,_

_I don't know what I'm doing, or what I'm thinking. I don't know why I'm writing this, and I don't know what I'm trying to say. I know that those words came out wrong yesterday, but I meant everything I said. Maybe I lashed out at Finn a bit, but all of it was true. You're not the same girl I met four years ago. I miss you Rachel, the REAL you. I'll still __love__ care about you no matter what, but you don't have that fire in you anymore._

_And I don't want the fight we had to be the last memory I have of you. And I don't want it to be the last memory you have of me. And I'm sorry for all those horrible things I've ever done to you. And I'm sorry that I've never apologized for all those things before. I'm sorry that I rejected your friendship out of fear._

_I want you to be a part of my life, Rachel so I'll write you once a week. I don't know if you'll read them or respond to them. You might not even be reading this one, but I'll write you anyway. And you know my address, so if you ever want to visit you can just drop by._

_Sincerely, Quinn Fabray_

Quinn finished then folded the piece of paper. She searched the living room for an envelope and found one just as Sam got back into the room. She stuffed it inside and wrote 'Rachel Berry' on the outside, complete with her signature gold star. Though it wasn't gold because all Quinn had to use was a black pen. They said goodbye to Sam's parents and siblings and went back to the car where Brittany and Santana had just finished their previous "activities."

"You two can stay in the back," Quinn said as she took shotgun. Sam shook his head and mumbled something about having to burn that seat. Surprisingly, with their tension resolved, Brittany and Santana were able to their PDA to a minimum. The four of them found it funny that during the entire drive to the airport that they were able to keep their lips off each other.

They got to the airport and the pair in the back quickly exited to grab their stuff. Quinn stayed in the passenger seat fiddling with the letter in her hand. "Do you want me to give that to her or not?" She looked up and then looked back down. "I can even make sure she reads it; I do live with her." Quinn quickly hands it to him as she heads out the door. She goes for her stuff, which her friends have already gotten out of the car.

"Ready for this girls?"

AN: Thanks for reading. Reviews please.


	4. Hold On

AN: I'm sobbing right now cause I just finished Glee. If you haven't seen it don't, I'm warning you cause then you'll suffer during the seven week hiatus. Anyway because I'm really emotional I couldn't remember what else I wanted to put in this chapter so it'd on the short side, but I'll publish it anyway cause I'm shaking and can't function properly. Please forgive any grammatical errors, or any other errors. Reviews and suggestions welcome. I own nothing. If I did then- well actually I have little complaints cause Faberry is more canon than ever.

AN: Also note that it will take some time for Rachel to find her way to Quinn's door. So there will, at least for a few chapters, be little Faberry interaction.

_**Hold On**_

Rachel lies lazily on her bed. It's several hours after noon, but she hasn't found the energy to get up yet. She's still in her pajamas and her hair is tied in a ponytail. Her eyes are fixed on the ceiling, staring at nothing in particular. She rolled over and grabbed a mirror from on top of her nightstand to see if she looked as bad as she did the previous night.

She looked worse.

Her eyes were bloodshot; which was due to lack of sleep and because she was crying, she reminded herself. Also due to the rough night she had bags under her eyes. The sight frightened the brunette slightly; her daily routines always made certain that her sleeping schedule was the same each and every night, unless she went out, and as such bags have never appeared under her eyes before.

Her body feels numb for having stayed in the same position for several hours now, and so it takes a considerable amount of effort for her to swing her legs off the side of her bed. She props her arms on either side of her as she slowly pushes herself up. Her still asleep legs wobble slightly and she nearly falls flat on her face. She makes her way downstairs without bothering to change; she's in her own house and besides she's really hungry. Rachel reaches the bottom step and the front door swings open.

"Sam, where have you been?" she doesn't even remember hearing him leave in the first place.

"I could ask you the same thing, but by the look it," he gestured at her attire, "I'd say you've been in bed." She gives him an affirmative nod. The blonde boy doesn't give one initially and instead just heads towards the kitchen and grabs a box of cereal, a bowl, and some milk. Rachel follows and begins searching through the fridge because she still needs something in her stomach too. "I was dropping Quinn, San, and Britt off at the airport," he says as he pours the cereal into the bowl.

"Oh," Rachel pulls out of the fridge and closes it. Her hunger is now replaces with guilt and something else that she can't quite place. Her legs feel weak again, so she takes a seat by the island opposite Sam. "You- you dropped her off?" Somehow she hadn't registered the fact that Quinn was on a plane right now.

"Yeah, after you refused to answer your phone last night she decided to give me a call." He took a few scoops of cereal. "And it looks like she made the right choice," he blurted out and instantly regretted his words. Quinn had become one of his best friends and he had now come to look at Rachel as another sister; he didn't actually enjoy picking sides like he was now, but he was well aware that both of them were very unhappy with where they were in life right now.

Rachel didn't come up with a retort though. She seemed to agree or perhaps she just brushed his opinion aside. "How was she?" Sam looks up from his food. "Quinn?" she adds though she knows she doesn't have to.

"Okay enough," he placed the unfinished bowl down on the island. "She wrote you this," Sam gets up and unnecessarily walks around the island to hand it to her. Rachel bites her lip and hesitantly takes the envelope. The diva eyes her name written in Quinn's graceful handwriting and flips it over. She opens it and is about to pull it out when she jumps out of her seat.

"I'll take it to my room," she announces.

"Are you going to read it?"

"Yes, Sam." The brunette runs up to her room and shuts the door, locking it. She jumps into her bed that she had just recently gotten out of. It's still warm and Rachel now remembers why she got out of it in the first place. Her stomach rumbles but she doesn't make the effort to go back downstairs. Rachel sits back up and pulls the letter out, carefully unfolding it.

_Dear Rachel,_

_I don't know what I'm doing, or what I'm thinking. I don't know why I'm writing this, and I don't know what I'm trying to say. I know that those words came out wrong yesterday, but I meant everything I said._

The grip her fingers had on the piece of paper grew tighter.

_Maybe I lashed out at Finn a bit, but all of it was true. You're not the same girl I met four years ago._

Her hands were now shaking as she was slightly irritated with Quinn's insistence.

_I miss you Rachel, the REAL you. I'll still __love__ care about you no matter what, but you don't have that fire in you anymore._

Rachel phone rang and she tossed the letter aside on her nightstand, promising to finish latter after she cooled down. "Hello?" she answered.

"Hey Jew Babe, you and Sam home yet?"

"Uh, yeah we are. Did you want to hang out with Sam, Noah?" She heard him chuckle from the other line.

"If I did, don't you think I'd call his phone?" Rachel mentally smacked herself for not seeing the obvious. "Anyway, like I told you before I couldn't be there today because I've had pools to clean all day. And I though, since we haven't spent much time together, that you might want to come along for the last one. Take a swim." Rachel brow furrowed in thought. Going for a swim did sound like a good idea. Then something dawned on her.

"You just want to see me in a bikini, don't you?" She heard him mutter something under his breath. "I'll go, Noah. Are you going to pick me up?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit. I'll give you a call."

Rachel went to her closet to get the necessary swimming attire. She settled on a two piece, pink swimsuit. It probably wasn't the best choice as she and Puck still had some attraction to each other, but Puck had assured her long ago that they were, in Puck's words, just bros.

She quickly changed and not one second after she was finished she received another call from Puck. She was thankful that they were able to avoid Sam. The last thing she needed was another person worrying about her. She was a big girl after all; she could take care of herself.

"Why is it so cold?" Rachel had just dipped her foot into the pool, and with the freezing temperature she pulled out so fast that she almost fell right on her butt, or worse she could have fallen into the pool. Puck shrugged his shoulders and continued his work. "You don't know? There's got to be something you can do, right? I don't want to just sit around watching you clean," she whined.

"Well alright," he strode over to her a glint in his eye and an evil smirk on his face. Rachel tried to run away, but was unsuccessful and instead found herself flailing wildly on Puck's shoulder.

"Noah, don't you dare!" she warned. He took a step towards the pool and the diva began pounding on his back. "I swear Puckerman, if you throw me in there I'll- I'll-" She didn't actually have anything to threaten him with and soon was tossed rudely into the freezing water. "You- you- ass!" she got out through her shivering. "Can you at least help me out?" she asked, extending a hand to him. He reached out to help her up, and Rachel instantly smiled and pulled him down instead.

"Fuck, this is cold!"

"Told you." She tossed some water at him.

"Oh, you want to play like that?" He splashed her back. Rachel shrieked out and feigned hurt just long enough to get Puck to let his guard down, then went back on the offensive.

"Ha, I can't believe you fell for that!" She continued on with her assault, relishing every moment of her almost certain victory. Rachel had occasional wins when it came down to her and Puck's play fights, but most of those came from Puck giving her a win. Being the competitive type she wasn't one to just accept someone giving her victory. And maybe she was cheating a bit, Puck cheated all the time. They continued on for a while. By the time they were finished they were both freezing but had huge smiles on their faces. "I never thought you could be such a punk, Noah, or that gullible," she joked.

"Neither do I," Puck admitted. "I must be going soft."

"You've always been soft for me."

"Whatever you say Rach. Let's get out of here, and get dry."

"Thanks," Rachel said as Puck drove her home. "That was fun. You were a jerk," she punched his arm, "but that was fun."

"And you were hot; you really need to stop hiding that body of yours." Typical Puck, Rachel punched him once again. "Hey, that was a compliment!" He shook his head and muttered, "Women sometimes," earning him another punch.

"Are you trying to make me mad?" the brunette asked with a smile and another swat to Puck's arm. "Or are you just being dumb?" He received another needless hit.

"Which answer will make you stop hitting me?" Rachel smacks him again, and laughs.

"Sorry, that was the last one. I promise."

Puck rolls his eyes and gives her a light tap on the arm as well when he reaches a red light. "Don't worry about it; you hit like a girl anyway." Rachel huffed in fake offense. "Besides it's nice to see you smile."

"Yeah," she replied, not really knowing how to respond. The brunette felt that Puck had wanted to say more but he didn't, and although it was somewhat relieving it was also made her feel uncomfortable. "Thanks again. Today really did help," she admitted for reasons she didn't know.

"Thought it would," Puck replied smugly. "We're here," he announced as he parked in front of her house. She got of his car and made her way to the door. "What no kiss?" she heard Puck say from behind her shoulder.

"You wish," she turned around and returned his coy smile. "Goodnight, Noah," she cooed.

She went inside once she saw Puck drive off. The lights were off, a sign that no one was home. Rachel had eaten a while go, having gone to the Lima Bean with Puck and so she headed off to her room. The brunette was pretty tired and just wanted to sleep so she decided not to turn on her light when she reached her room; A bit of a mistake as she stumble around a bit, bumping into her nightstand before she fell on her bed. She curled up in her sheets and didn't at all notice the piece of paper that slipped into the space between her nightstand and her bed.

AN: Thanks for reading and I apologize about the shortened length, and be on the lookout for a one-shot or two-shot concerning tonight's episode.


	5. Dear Agony

AN: Happy April Fool's Day! I'd like to prank you guys, but I'm not mean like that (most of the time)

AN2: I'm sorry for late updates. Real life, oh how you eat up my time. I'm sure there are some problems with the logistics of this chapter and I apologize for that now, and how that it doesn't put any of you off too much. But anyway the show must go on. Or as Finn would say "The show has to go all over the place" As always I own nothing.

_**Dear Agony**_

Stepping in through the doorway for only the second time made Quinn feel lightheaded, the weight of everything hadn't completely sunk in yet. She was out of Lima, really out of Lima. She was in her new apartment, a "graduation present" her mother had called it. Quinn knew there was something more to it, but she wasn't about to look a gift like an entire years rent in the mouth. Not to mention that she would need an apartment if she would have any chance of Rachel living with her, not that that really mattered any more.

She dragged her things inside and plopped herself down on the sofa. Now was not the time for negative thoughts. Not when she was lying down on a comfortable sofa. She was out on her own, had a nice place, she would soon start attending one of the top schools in the country. In short her future looked bright. And the best part about it was that she would no longer feel congested within Lima. Almost everything about that place made her sick to her stomach, especially her mother. That's not to say Quinn didn't love her mother, but she always though feelings like that should feel natural and not forced.

Things between Quinn and her mom had been, to be completely honest, silent since she had let Quinn back into the house. They would have those clichéd talks during dinner time where Judy would ask the simple "How was school?" and Quinn would typically brush it off with an equally simple "School's been good." It wasn't anything more or less than Quinn had expected, but even then she felt the need to get closer to her mother. With that thought in mind she finally decided to come out to her. Suffice to say, Judy wasn't exactly thrilled at the news, even if it meant her youngest daughter wouldn't be getting pregnant again anytime soon (or maybe even ever). Soon after that Quinn found herself in New Haven with her mother outside and apartment complex.

_She glanced at her mom curiously. "Mom, what are we doing here?" Judy made no attempt to answer her and instead just dragged her inside. There was only one reasonable answer Quinn could think of but still. Quinn forced to run up the stairs at a frantic pace. They stop ascending when they reach the fourth floor. Judy pulls Quinn aside, then down the hall. They stop in front of a door. Apartment 4F. Quinn looks at the door and then at her mother. "Mom?" Judy bites her lower lips. A habit her daughter adopted. She reaches into her purse and brings out a set of keys._

_ "I know it's a little late, but here's your graduation present." Quinn stares at her mother, open-mouthed. "Well are you going to open it?" she asks, jingling the keys in front of her daughter. Quinn grabs the keys an inserts it in the doorknob. She gives her mom one last look and lets out an appreciative squeak. The door swings open to reveal a decent sized living room._

_ The walls were cover with floral wallpaper. Light pinks and greens surrounding them. Quinn approached the couch and jumped into it. Soft, incredibly so. It would definitely be useful after exhausting days. She got up and continued to explore. Further in to the left she found a small kitchen area with an equally small dining table._

_ On the opposite end of the apartment was her bedroom. She opened the door and was caught slightly off-guard. There were two beds. Both were fairly spacious. The walls were plain white, that made need something later, but it didn't look too bad. She scanned the room. It was fairly empty, although that would be remedied soon. There work desk here, a nightstand there and there was a bookshelf next to, what she already claimed as her bed. A smile crept upon her face. She walked over to the closet. Nice size. It was almost perfect. The bathroom was next. She closed her eyes and opened the door. There was shower in front of her, but her attention was elsewhere. Beside it was a very large bathtub. Quinn may have whimpered slightly._

_ She went back to the living room and collapsed onto the couch next to her mom. "So what do you think?" The smile on Quinn's lips was unlike any other that Judy had seen before. It made her feel a bit bad. Suddenly without warning Quinn wrapped her arms around her mother._

_ "I love it! It's perfect." Her arms squeeze Judy harder. "It's perfect," she says again as she pulls away. "And I'm sure Rachel will love it too." There's a change in her mother's facial features. But Quinn doesn't notice. She's far too absorbed in the idea of having her own place. Her own place with Rachel. Quinn gets up. She begins to walk around the place muttering things about where the brunette's belongings could go._

_ Judy follows her tentatively. "So, you're really serious about having this girl live with you?" Quinn now notices the animosity in her mother's voice. But she doesn't want to fight, especially not now. Quinn's twirls around on her feet, light and graceful like a ballerina._

_ "Of course, she's my best friend. It just makes sense." She turns on heel. "If she lives with me at least she'll be closer to Broadway than if she just stays in Lima," she says with a shrug of her shoulders._

_ "So that's what this is all about? Helping out a friend?" Quinn's come completely down from her high. She attempt to keep face. Quinn turns on heel once more._

_ "Yes. Why?" She asks, her tone harsher than intended._

_ "Well, it's just that you've been spending a lot of time with this girl and-"_

_ "Rachel! Use her name."_

_ "You've been spending a lot of time with Rachel," her mother repeated. They were both doing their best to keep calm. "And I'm just concerned that you may have…" she paused clearly in thought._

_ "Yes, mom. Okay? I like her, happy?"_

_ Judy is taken aback by her daughter's abruptness but at least she's found her voice. "And you're sure about this?" Quinn scoffs. What else can she do?_

_ "Yes! We've discussed this, and I know you don't approve but-" her body is shaking. She wills herself to stop. Quinn takes breath, and then another. "Can't you just accept it?"_

_ "I do, Quinnie, I do." Judy pleads. "But does it really have to be her?" Quinn gives her the mother her signature glare. The one she would use when she was Head Bitch. "Just think about it, sweetheart. You've said that she loves Finn, yes?" Quinn reluctantly nods. "She's with him, and let's say that they do break up. Would she really be worth it?"_

_ "Yes." Quinn speaks without a second thought. "She's worth it."_

_ "But, why?" Quinn stared at her, flabbergasted. "You have so much going for you right now." Her daughter settled herself to lean against the wall "I don't want to see you risk that on some high school crush." Quinn's anger rises. She balled her hands into fists. Her nails would certainly pierce into her skin if they weren't so short. "She's just so… so…"_

_ "So what, mom? Broken?" Her voice was soft and severe. And maybe that made it worse for her mother. "I know that, but so was I. And she was there for me. No one else." She motioned to all around her. "So no, it's not just some high school crush."_

There's a knock on the door. Quinn swings her feet off the couch. She goes to the door and opens it. Outside there's a young girl. The girl looks to be about the same age as Quinn, and was only an inch or two shorter. She has green eyes and blonde hair that falls down to her shoulders. Her hands are buried in the back pockets of her tight blue jeans. She's wearing a pair of red Converse sneakers and a matching red polo. "Hi," she says with a small wave, before returning her hand to her back pocket.

"Hello."

"I couldn't help but notice you moving in, and I just wanted to be the first one to welcome you," the girl extends a hand. "I'm Samantha the way, Samantha Barnes," she adds with a beaming smile. Quinn happily accepts her hand.

"Quinn, Quinn Fabray."

"Well, Quinn Fabray, what brings you to New Haven?"

"Yale." There was bit of cockiness in her voice. The never ending compliments from the people of Lima had certainly stroked her ego.

"Really? I'm going there too." Her smile widened to reveal her perfectly white teeth. "I've just moved in with my cousin about a month ago. Maybe we'll have classes together." They hear a buzzing. Samantha makes a sound of annoyance and then pulls out her phone. She checks her texts and lets out a huff. "That was my cousin. I guess I gotta go. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Sure." The shorter blonde left and Quinn closed the door. She began to unpack, making sure to make a mental note to try out her bathtub later. She organized her clothes, books, notebooks (both the ones she wrote in and the ones she drew in). Her bags were empting fairly quickly. But that wasn't much of a surprise since she was forced pack lighter after her fight with Rachel.

There was only one thing left she had to find a place for. It was small box with a light green ribbon and a picture from her junior prom. She may not have won Prom Queen, unlike her senior year, but the night proved to be far more memorable in the long run and far less painful. While Quinn still wanted to win Prom Queen, it alone was no consolation when she had to watch Rachel dancing happily with Finn. Although she knew it could have been worse. Like if Finn won Prom King. Yeah, that would definitely be worse. To have to dance with him. Smell her scent on him. All the while knowing that she would always be his.

Or at least that's what she used to think. Quinn promised herself not to build any false hope. Just because she and Rachel had a moment at their junior prom didn't mean anything. But then she learned of her corsage.

_Quinn was fiddling with her hair while in her bed. Twirling it around her finger she let out a sigh. She and Brittany were working on a presentation for school. And while Quinn loved Brittany, at times it could prove difficult to work with her. It wasn't at all because Brittany wasn't smart because Britt was pretty bright. Only her genius revolved around topics not taught in school. And so she would tend to get distracted when working on projects._

_ "Q, my head hurts."_

_ Just like this._

_ "Well maybe we should take a break," Quinn replied with a smile. Brittany would probably the second hardest person for Quinn to say no to. She'd always have those puppy dog eyes when she asked for things. She didn't think Brittany did it on purpose, but it did annoy her at times. "I'll go downstairs and get us some snacks, okay?"_

_ "Do you have gummy bears?" Brittany asks eagerly._

_ "I'll go check." Quinn runs downstairs and bursts into the kitchen. She searches through the cabinets and finds that there are in fact gummy bears. Brittany would want most of those though so Quinn continued her search. Chips, no. Chocolate bar, no. Trail mix, that would do. She bound back upstairs. Quinn opened the door to her room. She found Brittany wrapping the ribbon around her wrist. The taller blonde stopped her actions as she heard Quinn enter._

_ "Hey Q, do you find any gummy bears?" Quinn tossed her the small package. "Yea, thanks." She opened it and popped an orange bear into her mouth. "This is from your corsage isn't it?" she asked between chews. Quinn answered with a yes. "Did you keep it because of Rachel?"_

_ "I'm not sure. I- Wait, what do you mean?" Brittany made a confused looking face._

_ "I'm just asking if you kept it because of Rachel." She began massaging her temple. "What else would I mean? It was Rachel's idea, and I know you like her." Quinn opened her mouth to speak which only resulted in her sputtering incoherently. "It's okay Q, no one else knows. Santana won't believe me," she finished glumly._

It was then that Quinn began to hope. A stupid mistake maybe.

AN: Reviews welcome. And Thank You.


	6. Life After You

AN: More and more this fic could easily end up being my headcanon for what happens after graduation. I mean sure some of the details don't fit with canon Glee, but that aside this fic really could work. I'm not sure how to feel about that. It's kind of scary actually.

Also, if you haven't noticed, I've started to name chapters with songs. They don't fit perfectly, but…

_**Life After You**_

Rachel woke up with a start, her phone blaring beside her. She opened her eyes and quickly closed them again. Squinting through the blinding sunlight, she fumbled for the tiny device. Once she found it she brought it up to her ear with a drowsy, "Hello?"

"Hey Rachel, are we still on for today?" The voice from the other line was familiar, but Rachel was far too sleepy to recognize it. She again tried to open her eyes to look at the caller ID. And once again she closed them due to the overbearing light. Rachel groaned in frustration. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Rachel responded, still not sure who she was talking too.

"Okay, so are we still on for today?" the girl on the other line asked again. "It's already past noon, and-"

"What?" Rachel jumped out of her bed. She couldn't have slept in, could she? She snapped her head towards her clock. It was in fact true. The time read 12:24. She buried her face in her hands. Through the phone she heard the other person once again asking if she was okay. "Yes, yes. I'm going to have to call you back okay?" she asked and then hung up before receiving an answer.

The brunette fell back onto her bed, letting out a sigh. She checked her phone for recent calls. Tina. Hm? Tina, Tina, Tina. What kind of plans did she have with Tina? She grunted and pushed herself to her feet. Someone was off, and that something was Rachel. Tiredly, her feet dragged her to the bathroom. The diva took a glance into her mirror. She was still wearing her clothes from the previous night out with Noah, and well she looked kind of awful.

She decided to take a shower, or better yet a soothing bath, as she tried to remember what she had planned with Tina. Rachel went over to prepare her tub and began discarding her clothing. Leg by leg, she dipped herself in. She mewled contently once her body was fully submerged. Laying there seemed to just wash away all her troubles and worries. And even if that would only last for the remainder of the bath it was a nice break. So instead of thinking the diva just allowed her body to relax.

Half an hour later she finished. She wrapped both her body and her hair in a towel and went to her calendar. She scolded herself internally for not having checked that first. Her fingers ran through it, finding the day's date. And it was then that it all came back to her. Despite having been inseparable from Quinn since graduation, Rachel had been having practice sessions with Tina once a week. Quinn would get very upset with these sessions, although she would attend each one.

Tina would be the next female lead, and it kind of freaked her out. Needless to say Rachel was kind of mad at herself right now. She went for her phone and quickly called Tina. Two rings and her call was answered. "Tina, I'm so sorry. I've just been really stressed, but I can still come over if you want."

"Oh, well if you're stressed we can just cancel. Maybe we could just hang out instead," Tina suggested.

"Um… Yeah, sure. That would be great actually." Rachel went over to her closet, almost forgetting that she was still wearing a towel. "So I'll pick you up in about half an hour, okay?"

"See you in half an hour then. Bye."

"Bye." Rachel properly dried herself off then proceeded to get dressed. She would typically take some time to choose her clothes, but felt bad enough as it was for making Tina wait. It was a nice looking day and so she settled on a black skirt with knee highs and flats, and to top it off an 'I Heart New York' shirt. Just because she was depressed about not being in the big apple right now didn't mean she couldn't represent the city she was born for.

She escaped the confines of her room and made her way to Tina's house. Over the course of the summer Tina had proved to be far more talented than Rachel had given her credit for. Rachel would attribute that to the fact that Tina was hardly ever allowed to sing, but at the same time she could help but feel bad about never acknowledging the girl's talent.

With a few minutes to spare Rachel parked her car outside Tina's house. She got out and went over to Tina's front porch, giving the door a knock. The Asian girl soon exited and the pair went back to Rachel's car. "Any ideas of what you want to do?" she asked once her house was out of view.

"I don't know." Rachel shook her head. "I just need to clear my head."

"How about we grab some soft serve at that ice cream place that opened a few months ago? They've got vegan options." Rachel bobbed her head left and right, as though she was actually thinking about it. "Please."

"Sure, you've really made me curious about this place." This wasn't the first time Tina's mentioned said ice cream shop, but had always been too preoccupied with one thing or another to visit the place. She continued to drive as Tina gave her directions. Rachel quirked an eyebrow and turned towards her.

"What? I know my way to this place." She gave a small shrug. "Mike and I stopped by almost every weekend since it opened." She smiled at the fond memories. "We must have tried out every flavor they have."

"How is Mike?"

"He's good." She reaches out to turn on the radio. "It's just hard with him being so far away. You know?"

"Not really, no. But I can imagine."

"Yeah, you and Finn have never been too far apart, have you?" Rachel nodded even when she knew Tina didn't really need a response. "He was even going to go with you to New York, wasn't he?" Another small nod. "You're lucky."

"You are too," she responds, not really believing her words. It's not that she doesn't think Tina is lucky, but that she doesn't think that she's very lucky herself. If she were then she'd be in New York right now. Not to mention that she'd normally account her success to talent as opposed to luck. Though to think like that right now would have one concluded that Rachel Barbra Berry wasn't talented enough to get to NYADA, wasn't talented enough to get to Broadway. But of course that wasn't true.

The pair made it to the ice cream and made their orders. Rachel took coffee flavored while Tina chose an interesting concoction with an assortment of bright colors. One glance at the multi-colored desert had Rachel looking at Tina bewilderedly. "What?" She tossed her hands up defensively. "Contrary to popular belief I love rainbows." Rachel quirked an eyebrow but left the answer as is.

Slowly eating their ice cream, the pair walked out of the store to a nearby park. It was another locale that Tina had burned to memory after having spent so much time in this neighborhood with Mike. A cool breeze hit their faces, as the heat of summer warmed them from above. Perfect weather, and aside from a few issues Rachel would say that it was a perfect day. Nice, quiet, peaceful. The stress just washed off of her.

Further down the path they were on there was a small pond. She looked over at Tina, and tilted her head in the direction of the pond. The other girl gave a smile and nodded her head in agreement. They walked off the gravelly path and onto the grass. As they sat down, crossed legged, Rachel wished that she had worn jeans instead of the short skirt she had on. They slowly finished their soft serve as they looked out at the scenery.

Ducks of different sizes and colors swam by before their eyes, and on the other end there even looked to be a swan or two. Although neither girl knew enough to name any of these animals, they could see the distinctive patterns or marks that each species had. They each kept to their own, swimming closely to their parents. The two girls could see that this small pool of water was home to a large number of creatures despite its size. It was so full of life that you wouldn't, or couldn't believe, until you saw it.

"Feeling better?" Fully entranced in the beauty of nature before them Rachel barely comprehended the words being said to her. "Rachel?" the other girl questioned, snapping the brunette out of her thoughts. She snapped her head towards Tina and nodded it. "Good." She leaned back, lying down on the grass. Rachel soon followed, letting out a content sigh. "I always come here when I need to relax," Tina explained.

"I can see why." They continued to just lie there, soaking in the warmth of the sun. Over time Rachel's eyelids dropped. She began humming a familiar tune, as she drifted close to sleep. Her body was unusually worn out.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah," the brunette answered keeping her eyes closed.

"I'm glad you're still around." Rachel opened her eyes and propped herself up by her elbows. "That sounded selfish didn't it?" She shook her head. "I mean I am sorry your NYADA audition didn't work out, but I just like that not all the girls are gone," she took another pause. "I guess there's still Sugar, but she's… Sugar." They both let out a laugh.

"I get it." She let out a yawn.

"Tired?" Instead of a proper response she got another yawn. "Didn't you sleep in 'til noon?" she teased, earning a glare from the shorter girl. "Come on let's go. Don't want you getting us in a crash because you fell asleep behind the wheel," she said as she got up, not noticing how Rachel flinched at the word 'crash.' They brushed off the stray pieces of grass that were stuck to them and then went back to the beaten path.

She drove Tina back home. They spend the drive discussing the possibilities for the upcoming year. There were a few problems that they'd need to settle. One being that the size of the club had been effectively cut in half after graduation, and then there was the other important choice of who would be the new male lead. Rachel frowned at the thought that she might have to contribute to the choice between the two of them.

Tina reassured her that Mr. Schue would probably still be making most of the big decisions. Rachel wasn't convinced, nor was she sure she very much liked the idea of that. Mr. Schue had been against the female duet that, Rachel thought, had won them Nationals.

It was her first and only Nationals win.

And her duet partner had been Quinn. Not only that, but it was the blonde who had suggested it in the first place. It was Quinn who had them blatantly disregard Mr. Schue's directions and perform the routine they had wanted.

Rachel thought back to the letter as uneasy feeling filled her stomach. She had to reply to her. She owed Quinn that much. The brunette dropped Tina off, uttered a quick "goodbye" and then sped off home. Well she kind of sped home. It's not really easy to speed home if you're driving under the speed limit.

She got home, and entered her room. Something about it felt off, but she'd worry about that later. She approached her nightstand, the last place she remembered putting the piece of stationary. It wasn't there. Rachel dropped to the floor, scanning the nearby area.

Nothing.

Beside the nightstand, beneath it, beneath the bed, and still nothing.

She got up and went to her closet. Maybe it had found its way there when she got dressed earlier. She shifted through the dresses, and sweaters, and such, throwing some of them out to clear some room. Finding nothing she went on to the rest of her room, systematically tearing it apart corner by corner.

Rachel tossed things across the room, occasionally causing a loud bang. She was shuffling through her drawers when she heard her name being called. She turned towards the source of the disturbance to find Sam peeking his head into her room. "You okay in here, Rach?" he asked as he scanned the room. "What are you doing? Your dads' just cleaned up your room."

"They cleaned my room?"

"Yeah, that's what I just said," Sam stepped inside, carefully trying to avoid stepping on Rachel's belongings that were scattered on the floor. "Your room's been a mess for a while, and they thought they'd take care of it for you."

"Oh."

"Why, what's wrong? Did you lose something?"

"Um, yeah. Kinda. It's nothing though." Sam's eyes drifted around the room once more. With the state of her room, there was no way he'd believe her. He didn't say anything, but just looked at her suspiciously. "Really Sam, it's no big deal. I'm sure it's around here somewhere."

"Okay," he said with a sigh. "If you say so." He left her room and closed the door. Once it was fully shut, Rachel sank down on the spot. She started to pick her things up, placing them here or there. She was sick of all of this already. She wanted it to be done.

AN: I'm not really sure how many chapters I'll have until Rachel goes to New Haven. I really want to have their lives develop while each is on their own, but I'd appreciate some input here. Do you want to see their respective lives alone, or do you want to see how they interact after the time apart?


	7. Walked Outta Heaven

AN: Everyone say "Happy Birthday" to Dianna Agron.

AN2: I honestly think this chapter was rushed, if only because I tried to get it out on this day. The rest should take things at a much slower pace. But of course that means more chapters with Quinn and Rachel apart. Right now I'm up to about three for each (storyboarded only, not written). Although I'm still a bit uncertain if I'll use all of them. And I also feel iffy about my song choice for this chapter's title.

_**Walked Outta Heaven**_

Quinn impatiently tapped her pen against her desk. It had been three weeks since she first came to New Haven. And it had also been three weeks since she had written her first letter to Rachel. She had been busy. Between school, finding a job, and also looking for a potential roommate, Quinn had little free time to do as she wished. But if she were being honest with herself, she would say that none of that was the real reason she refused to contact the brunette.

School was difficult but noting Quinn couldn't handle. Money was a larger issue, but unless her mother decided to cut her off she'd do just fine for now. And she was still pretty iffy about getting a roommate so she didn't take the search for one too seriously.

So, you may be wondering what the problem was. Well it was Rachel and her response, or lack thereof. They say actions speak louder than words, and the action of silence was screaming straight into Quinn's ear.

The slamming of her fridge door snapped her out of her thoughts. "Why do you have so much tofu in here?" Samantha called in annoyance.

"It's good for you," Quinn argued. "And I don't have that much!" And she didn't, or at least she thought she didn't. She heard a huff of disbelief coming from her kitchen.

The two blondes had become quick friends in the past few weeks. Quinn had learned that Samantha was an amateur writer. Nothing very serious, only poems and short stories, but the other girl's love of writing easily complimented her love of reading. It was probably that reason alone that had the pair click so instantly.

The shorter girl walked up to Quinn. She glanced over her shoulder at the blank piece of paper. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Writing a letter," Quinn answered, turning her head to look at Samantha. "What does it look like?" The other girl had an awestruck look on her face.

"A letter? Seriously? What century do you live in?" she let out short laugh. "You could call someone, email them, or Skype them and you choose to write a letter?"

"Yeah," she replied, turning back to her desk. "It's more personal, more… intimate." The last word was let out softly, whispered.

"Okay." She left Quinn be and tossed herself onto the couch. She hummed in bliss as rolled into a comfortable position. "Have I ever told you that I love your place?" Quinn couldn't help but roll her eyes. The shorter blonde had told her that each time she came over. "Everything here's so new, so fresh, so soft," she mewled. "And you have this place all to yourself. I am so jealous."

"Yeah, you've told me before." Quinn started to tap her pen once more.

"Who's that for anyway?" Samantha asked lazily. "Boyfriend?"

"Um, no," Quinn answered nervously. "Don't have one."

"Really?" The shorter girl bounced up into a sitting position. "Single and ready to mingle?" Quinn mouthed out a 'kinda' as she tentatively nodded her head. "Sweet, I've been waiting to find someone I could scope out cute guys with. It's just no fun doing it on my own."

"That's not really going to work with me," Quinn said through gritted teeth. "I'm…" She paused, uncertainty looming around her. Half of her wanted to be honest, to just tell the truth. The other half was just brought back to her memories of Lima. She thought back to the harassment that Santana suffered after she was outed, by Finn no less. Quinn could never understand how Rachel, a girl with two gay dads, could stay in a relationship with him.

Quinn sputtered through her words for a minute until Samantha spoke up. "You still looking for a roommate?" she asked. Quinn met her gaze and through her eyes thanked her for changing the subject.

"I guess."

"Lucky; get to choose who you live with." She propped herself up on her elbows. "You need any help with that search?" Quinn spun her chair around, and bit her lip thoughtfully. A knock on the door saved her from having to give an answer. The shorter blonde motioned for her to answer and used the opportunity to use the bathroom. Quinn eyed the door curiously as she approached it. There were very few people who knew where she lived, and most of those were people she knew from Lima. She cautiously turned the knobbed.

"Rachel told me everything." The words were thrown at her not a second after the door was open enough for the boy outside to see her. "I've been debating whether or not if I should come by, but I can't just… I can't." His face was stern and his eyes were trained on her own. He looked as though he were trying to read her expression.

"Kurt what are you talking about?" Her eyes drifted left and right to see if he was alone.

"Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Now may I please come in?" Quinn opened the door further. "Look Quinn I-" The words were lost in his throat as he spotted Samantha entering the room. She paused and watched them curiously. "Oh, you have company. My apologizes. I shouldn't have barged in like that." Quinn rolled her eyes while nodding her head in agreement. "I'll come back later." He turned to leave.

Samantha rushed in front of him, blocking his path. "No, don't. I should go anyway," she lied. "I'll see you later Quinn."

"No, no. I was being rude. I should have called." Behind him Quinn mouthed out the words 'You think?' He attempted to move around the shorter blonde, but she was easily able to mimic his actions.

"I insist, I'll go." She exited the apartment and closed the door. Quinn swore under her breath and sat down on her couch. Kurt followed, sitting on the opposite end.

"So, what exactly did Rachel tell you?" Quinn asked after a brief silence.

"Everything. We're best friends," Kurt pointed out. "We don't hide things from one another."

"And you're here why?" she asked. "You're here to what?" she shrugged. "To tell me that you know what it feels like?" Her tone was harsh, and hurt. "That you know what it feels like to fall in love with someone who's straight? To tell me that I'll get over it?" Quinn finished and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She waited for Kurt's retort, but none came. She opened her eyes and brought them up to Kurt. He had a hand covering his agape mouth. "She didn't tell you what I told her, did she?"

"No, she didn't," Kurt admitted. "And I apologize for my trickery." Quinn quirked an eyebrow. "Rachel never told me anything. Blaine overheard a conversation about you two having a fight. I just never expected…"

"Of course you didn't," Quinn muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Again Kurt was at a loss for words. "Anything else you want to say?" Kurt remained silent, shaking his head. Quinn wasn't sure if he was saying no or if he was still trying to let this all sink in. "If there's nothing left could you please leave?"

"How long?"

"What does it matter?"

"How long, Quinn?" he asked again. His face had become less serious. Even then, she refused to answer. "Was it since you met?" Her eyes drifted from his. "I'll take that as a yes. So everything you did to her; the teasing, the slushies, the name calling, all of that was cause you liked her?" Quinn tucked a few stray locks of hair behind her ear. "I'll say that's another yes. Are you sure you love her Quinn?"

She snapped her head towards Kurt, letting her short hair fly about. "What is that supposed to mean? Of course I'm sure."

"Do you remember Dave, Quinn?" She nodded her head, not exactly understanding where he was going. "Earlier this year, around Valentine's, I received a number of cards, gifts and that gorilla gram. I didn't tell any of you this, but that all came from Dave." He paused allowing Quinn to let it sink in. "I helped him through a tough time in his life, and I never held any of the bullying against him."

"You're comparing me and Rachel to you and Dave?"

"You can't deny the similarities." Kurt stood up, turning his back to Quinn. "All I'm saying is that you obviously feel a strong connection to Rachel, and that you might be confusing that with love."

"How dare you!" She stood up. Her eyes narrowed, boring holes into the back of Kurt's head. "How dare you tell me how I feel about Rachel! You just find out about all this, and then you make all these assumptions about me!" She stilled her breathing and politely asked him to leave.

"Quinn, please."

"Leave." He shuffled out.

Quinn walked to her couch, sinking into it. She liked Kurt enough, most of the time. But he almost always air of superiority when he was around her. He was always right, and she was always wrong. For someone who had gone through so much in high school, Quinn often thought that Kurt was just a self-righteous dick.

She huffed out a breath of air as she heard another knock on her door. This one was lighter, and she already knew who it was. Quinn opened the door to reveal Samantha. "Hey," she said with a small wave, which had become a routine for her whenever she came by to Quinn's place. "So, who was that?" she asked while tilting her head in the direction of the stairs.

"An old friend," Quinn answered softly. "I don't really want to talk about it." Samantha nodded her understanding then went back to the apartment she shared with her cousin. Quinn reentered her own apartment and went back to her desk. The piece of paper on it was still blank. She uncapped her pen and began to write.

_Dear Rachel,_

_ How have you been? Things here have been pretty busy._

Good enough start, she thought.

_I really miss you._

Nope that wouldn't do.

_I miss all of you. It's funny. I actually wish I was back in Lima._

Now that just sounded stupide, and very unrealistic. Who in their right mind would really want to go back to Lima? Her mind drifted to Blaine's brother. He was the kind of person who'd come back to Lima. And she thought that the guy was a douche and didn't know a thing about what he was talking about. So yeah, saying she wanted to be back in Lima was out of the picture.

She continued to write and cross things out again and again. At some point she reached the bottom of the page. Looking back at it she found that the whole thing was more or less illegible, even with her beautiful handwriting.

Quinn decided to get some air and finish later. She grabbed a coat and a beanie, unsure of how long she'd be out, and left the building. A cold breeze slapped her face as she stepped outside. She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets to find a small notepad and pencil she had placed in there the week before. She pulled them as walked down the street. Quinn paused at an intersection and opened the notepad to an empty page. She started drawing a rough sketch of the area, something that proved quite difficult with the wind blowing.

It had been a while since Quinn had drawn anything, and she had been meaning to do something like this for some time now. It oddly felt like a release of some sort. The light from the sun began to fade and Quinn took that as a sign to stop. She placed the pencil back in her pocket, and lifted the notepad out if front of her. Slowly she moved it along, comparing it to the backdrop she was trying to recreate. She smiled at the thought that she hadn't lost her talent.

A strong breeze blew by, nearly blowing the notepad from her grip. She placed it back in her pocket and walked back home, wrapping her coat more securely around her. Upon reaching the entrance to the apartment building she took one last look at the darkening sky. She made a mental note to try something with the night sky at some point.

Quinn got back to her apartment and hung up her coat after taking the notepad out, but kept the beanie on. She ripped out the sketch she drew and tossed it onto her desk. The blonde was still uncertain about what to write, but thought some art would be okay. But it was getting late and she had a lot to do the following day so she decided to put that off until the morning.

AN: Thanks for reading. Quick question, is there any particular character that you want to see more of? And how do you expect (not want) them to deal with the situation?


	8. Time After Time

AN: Not much to say except a warning that there is a Finchel scene in this chapter. That's about it.

_**Time After Time**_

It's eight in the morning when Rachel wakes up. She's already been able to regain her normal sleeping habits, but for a week or so she would get up an hour earlier to search. And right now she's making up for lost sleep. Not to mention that in that time the brunette had failed miserably in her endeavors. At the end of it all she mildly scolded herself for not wanting to rely on luck.

Her fathers and Sam, despite waking after her, easily took notice of her behavior. She would hear her dads speak in hushed voices but become entirely silent whenever she entered the room. Sam on the other hand, or at least as far as Rachel could tell, had just grown more suspicious of her. She couldn't really blame him; she was keeping something from the blonde boy, kinda.

Feeling that her chances of finding the letter were hopeless, Rachel eventually gave up. She wasn't sure how to respond, not having the letter fully, and decided to wait for another. So far one hadn't come.

It hit her quite hard each day that she readily awaited for the mail to come. She'd shuffle through the envelopes keeping an eye out for Quinn's name. Her impatience reminded her of when she kept vigil for her NYADA letter, though this time Rachel was far more pent-up.

A response from a college could either mean a yes or a no. Well, not exactly. There was the possibly of being on a waiting list, or in Rachel's case, being a finalist. But the point was that with college there was only so much you could expect, with Quinn… Rachel had no idea what to expect.

And she also felt awful of how she treated the blonde on their final day together. Rachel was better able to absorb the events in the auditorium as time went on. It was all so sudden back then, and what was she supposed to do? Could she just accept that all of Quinn's bullying was an attempt to block out her true feelings? Or that they were a desperate cry for attention, even if negative?

No. She couldn't. Not that easily.

But now?

Now she wasn't quite sure. She knew she missed her, and that she wanted to reopen that line of communication that the two shared. The one that she had cherished so greatly.

And she supposed that if Quinn's feelings were genuine, that she could understand her actions. Rachel would be lying if she said she had never done something completely stupid or selfish in the name of love. She had never done anything to the degree that Quinn had, but she fair share of moments. Like that one time that she kissed Finn onstage at Nationals during junior year, although most people blamed Finn for that.

But Rachel had been at fault as well. She had thrown Nationals away without a second thought. She had a choice and she chose Finn, and she would choose him again. Not that her most recent decision was based Finn, Rachel reminded herself. Her decision to stay in Lima, though a forced decision, was made due to her failure at getting accepted into NYADA.

It was a temporary setback. And within a year or two she'd be right back on track. She was sure of it. But in the meantime she'd make the best of her time. Speaking of which, today was New Directions first official meeting of the year. Therefore it would also be her first official day as a show choir assistant director.

Their victory at Nationals the previous year had obtained them a good amount of publicity. And with publicity came sponsors, donors, and such. They were able to get the school enough money to be a bit frivolous; enough so that the school could officially hire her. The last word would come from Figgins, of course. But anyone knows that he'd do almost anything if it meant money for McKinley.

And there was also the rumor going around that Figgins thought Rachel would make a better show choir director than Schuester. Just a rumor with no legitimacy, but made the brunette laugh when she first heard it.

It was flattering, no doubt. But Rachel couldn't follow in her choir director's footsteps. She couldn't end up stuck in this town, married to her high school sweetheart, teaching others to reach out for their dreams even though she hadn't reached hers.

It was frightfully possible situation, but she was determined. And so was Finn. She just had to make sure that neither of them got too settled to their current lifestyle.

Being early morning, Rachel had plenty of time to prepare for the rest of the day. She started on her morning routine, which of late had been extended due to an abundance of free time. Sweat formed on her brow as she worked out on her elliptical. She put in extra effort, without exerting herself, to make up for miss days.

Once good and sore she went downstairs, dressed in yoga pants and a tank top with her hair in a ponytail, to be greeted with a delicious smell. Vegan pancakes, Rachel though. She entered the kitchen and sure enough there was Sam flipping pancake after pancake. He saw her, offered a smile and a 'good morning' as he flipped another pancake.

She grabbed a plate and some utensils and went over to the table, where Sam had about a dozen or so already made. "Eat up," he called. "Plenty more on the way." Tentatively, Rachel took two and then a third, and vigorously started eating. She would attribute her animalistic behavior to hunger and the wonderful aroma that filled the air.

But in truth she just loved Sam's cooking. He came from a household where his parents had to work double shifts leaving him to watch his two younger siblings, or course he'd end up being good cook. Add in the fact on most days Rachel would eat takeout with her dads, and well it was a surprise that Sam's ego hadn't been inflated.

The blonde boy finished up the last few and joined Rachel just as she taking two more onto her plate. She was just finishing up that last few bites of her previous one in a very unladylike manner. "Big day, huh?" he said, placing a pair of pancakes onto his own plate. Rachel stopped cutting into her current one and swallowed whatever was left in her mouth.

"Yes it is," she answered uncertainly.

"Make sure to tell me all about it." She nodded. But she still felt uneasy about what, she thought, seemed like a force conversation. He began digging in on his own food, so she didn't push the subject. They continued to eat silently. When they were finished there was still six left over for her dads. Though knowing how much Rachel loved them, they usually would only eat two each.

Rachel still had plenty of time before she was expected at McKinley and so she decided to stop by Burt's garage and pay Finn a surprise visit. She went back upstairs to throw on something more appropriate. The brunette settled on a pair of jeans and a red argyle sweater. She hadn't really touched her argyle in a while, but the strong wind she saw outside her window told her she'd appreciate the warmth it would provide.

As she went back downstairs she found that Sam had already left for his classes at the local community college. Rachel would have her own classes to attend, but she had none today. Being the meticulous person she is, Rachel had coordinated her work and school schedules to fit perfectly.

What she couldn't fit in was alone time with Finn. He'd been working five full shifts a week, but at times would take a few extra hours during the weekends. They'd be lucky to see each other once a week. And so she deemed the time perfect for a spontaneous trip to see him and drop him off some lunch.

A task that proved to be more unnerving than she'd like. But what good vegan girlfriend wouldn't feel a bit sick after visiting a deli store to order her boyfriend a sandwich? Even with her lack of a gag reflex, Rachel felt something traveling up her throat as awaited her boyfriend's food. She might have been imagining it, but decided not to risk it and kept her eyes trained on the floor the entire time.

She quickly escaped the place once she got her order. Rachel went back to her car and placed the sandwich in a paper bag that already contained a root beer and a pack of sour patch kids. She continued on to the garage, finding a parking spot about a block or two away. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if she just drove in.

Rachel grabbed the bag and exited her car. She considered texting Blaine to see if the cost was clear, but then remembered that he'd be in school right now. The diva reached the garage and peeked in. Her eyes moved left than right and… There! Hunched over, working on an engine, was Finn.

With quiet steps she approached him, the bag held firmly behind her. She poked him the ribs to get his attention. He turned to her and she whipped the bag in front of him. "Brought you lunch," she announced merrily. He smiled a bright lopsided smile that contrasted greatly with the dirt that was covering his face. Finn stood up, carefully avoiding the hood of the car.

"Aww, thanks Rach," he said as he took the bag from her. He leaned forward for a kiss, but was stopped by two hands on his chest.

"You have a little something on your…" Rachel started, her finger extended towards his face, moving around trying to find a spot that was dirtier than the rest. "Everything," she said at last. He backed up with a short chuckle, and then took a look inside the bag.

"Ooh, sour patch kids."

"And your favorite; double pastrami on rye, mustard no mayo, extra pickles with jalapenos."

"Thanks," he says again, a bit more enthusiastically than before. He grins down at the bag for a bit before addressing her again. "You're the best you know?" A faint blush crosses her features. "What would I do without you?"

"You would do just fine, Finn."

"Maybe," he muses. "Hey, I know we haven't really spent too much time together, but I'm off this Saturday." He can already see her eyes light up. "So why don't we go out somewhere?"

"I'd like that. Where to?"

"I'm not sure." He shrugs. "Anywhere you want." Rachel smiles warmly before saying that she needs to get to McKinley, and Finn has to finish up his work so he doesn't mind.

Rachel approaches the school, and groans when she sees how full the parking lot is. Then thought comes to mind. Since she is working there she should be able to use the faculty parking lot, right? Rachel doesn't know, and just to make sure she doesn't get in trouble her first day she chooses to just stick with the student one. She makes a note to address this issue with Mr. Schue or Figgins later.

She enters the halls of her high school. The students are filing out of their rooms, ready to escape. Rachel sees a number of familiar faces, from all the clubs she had join. They don't seem recognize her, or maybe they just don't notice her. It doesn't bother her. Most were never really nice to her. And they'll regret not being her friends when her name's up in lights.

Rachel makes her way to the choir room when she hears "Barbra" being called out. It could be aimed at anyone, although Rachel doesn't recall if a Barbra even attends McKinley. But the fact she knows the voice lets Rachel know that it's aimed at her. She turns on heel, and just as expected she comes face to face with a one Sue Sylvester, tracksuit and all.

"Well it is you. I must say I'm surprised to see you here again. Didn't you graduate?" her tone lacks the venom that Rachel's accustomed to. "Or maybe you decided to relive your glory days by disguising yourself as a freshman." Rachel huffs at the blatant joke about her height.

"Actually Coach Sylvester, I'll be assisting Mr. Schue in coaching New Directions," she says proudly. Sue doesn't look fazed. In fact it appear likes she's amused.

"Well that explains the waterworks I saw a few weeks back." No doubt she's referencing the incident in the auditorium. "But I suppose that if I still had tear ducts and I just found out I'd butt chin's assistant, I'd probably cry too." Sue has no idea what she's talking about, but Rachel's not about to correct her. She'd rather not think about that day. The cheer coach seems to have had her fun and leaves her alone.

Rachel resumes her previous path to the choir room. Inside the remaining members, Blaine, Artie, Tina, Rory, Sugar, Joe, and two sophomores (whose names evade Rachel) from the Troubletones are already seated. Mr. Schue is late, as expected. Rachel decides to start without him. She bursts through the door yelling as enthusiastically as she can, "Who's ready for another Nationals win?"

AN: So as I'm fairly (not completely) certain I've said before I'm not trying to make Finchel out to be completely terrible. At least not in this fic. So I'd like reviews on how I've handled them so far. Also the title of this chapter may seem a bit off, but I do have a reason… kinda.


End file.
